Well I went to a lake on Friday and figured I try fishing for some Pickeral. All I have to say is this those things are vicious they hit with some bad intentions .I caught ten Pickerel 1 bluegill (on a popper) in about three hours of fishing. I had a blast . I had one nice size bass on but it got off . This is the first time I have ever targeted Pickerel and definitely not the last . I caught 3 on a Dahlberg diver 1 on a popper 2 on a half & half and the rest on Bary's pike fly . I think I want to try for some Musky and Pike now but I don't know of any places in the SE to target them . If any one could help me out I would greatly appreciate it I always practice catch and release .

I am not much of a warm water fisher guy (or a coldwater guy for that matter- hah) but I don't think this guy was either. This might fire you guys up. Saw this in the paper this morning.

Altoona man catches record muskie on hooked trout at Canoe Creek LakeSunday, April 27, 2008By Deborah Weisberg, Special to the Post-Gazette

Stephen Ross with his 501/2-inch muskie.Opening day of trout season landed Stephen Ross of Altoona a big, unexpected bonus.

While reeling in a trout at Canoe Creek Lake, he hooked a 50 1/2-inch, 44 1/4-pound muskie who was after the same fish.

According to Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Waterways Conservation Officer Craig Garman, it is the largest muskie catch ever documented at the 155-acre Blair County impoundment.

"I thought I was hung up on something," said Ross, 46. "When my younger brother said you have a muskie on, I loosened my drag and the fish started running.

"It went out into the lake 40 yards and started swimming on top of the water, and stayed there the entire time I fought it, which was 45 minutes. I was standing near the boat rental when I started and, when I landed him, I was 60 yards down the bank."

Because it was opening day, Ross had quite an audience.

"There were 75 to 100 people around me all the time. Folks were running up to me every time I got [the fish] close to shore with cameras and cell phones. I got sort of an attitude and finally told them, 'Stay back. You can get all the pictures you want when I get him on the bank.' My adrenaline was really running. It was total chaos."

A dedicated trout angler, Ross has never targeted muskies. He was fishing 8-pound test and a No. 10 trout hook.

"The muskie swallowed the trout pretty deep," said Ross.

The fish's weight was certified at Gerhart's Meats. Ross plans to have his trophy mounted.

Fred, For muskies in the east you might try Blue Marsh Lake and Lake Nockamixon. The Delaware and Schuylkill rivers also received stockings of tiger muskies and I believe New Jersey may have put purebred fingerlings in the DE River. I think some sections of the Lehigh River may also have muskies. The PFBC has curtailed musky stockings in recent years so you might want to check their website for up to date info on muskies. As far as I'm aware, there is no natural reproduction of muskies in the eastern part of the state (they do reproduce in the western part of the state). I have had some good luck with pike in Lake Marburg in SW York Co. The pike are numerous in this lake and run large but they are tough to catch in the summer as they hold in deep water. In March/April however they can be caught in shallow weedy bays. Good luck.

The Schuylkill at the mouth of the Perkiomen, and the lower Perkiomen are rumored to be musky hot spots, pure bred not tiger. Most of the tiger muskie stocking was done in the lower river between Flat Rock and Fairmount dams. The Delaware has purebred muskie in it above Scudders Falls. I've caught several small ones there in my previous incarnation as a lure and bait fisherman.

This past weekend, the grannoms didn't show on Oil Creek. The weather had the water into the high 50s. I busted out the new Helios 8 wt to blow the stink off of it. I tied into a decent number of pre-spawners from 10 to about 14 inches. They fought great. It didn't matter much what I threw at them. In the flatter water, it helped if I I had a sculpin-ish fly on. The FeatherCraft Woolhead sculpin with a cone head and a Gammy sz. 1 jig hook did well. Man, I LOVE that tie! Really, in my 12 years of tying flies, you kiss a lot of toads. Some are a pain, some just don't work well, some don't hook well. I've fell into a bunch of flies that look good, fish well, cast well, hook well, and last for more than a couple of fish.

jayL, you are correct they were Pike. I use were because after the mishap with the water regulation valve that darined the lake it has never recovered to its greatness . Catching half a dozen smallies was a hohum day. B.A.

Posted on: 2008/5/15 9:21

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" I chose my cast a march brown, a dun..... and ran to the river chasing hope"....... Wilfrid S. Blunt

The Pike are still in Hopewell, lake but as Brookieaddict stated, they have not returned in the numbers they once were.

If you fish Hopewell lake, head up to the disc golf course on the North side of the lake, where the feeder stream between Scott's run and Hopewell is. Wade out from the feeder stream and fish the weed beds to the right of this. In the early morning just around day break you can find them hanging in there!!